Kitchen Share Services & Rates
La Dorita’s shared maker space is comprised of 4000 sq. ft. that includes four separate kitchens, storage space, a walk-in cooler/freezer, office space with a copier and printer, and space for business meetings. La Dorita studio space is also available to members for private events and pop-up meals at our communal table that encourages the post prandial art of sobremesa…staying a while at the table, well after a meal is done. That’s when all of the magic happens. Through the years, we have differentiated ourselves from other maker spaces by the fact that our entrepreneurs have exclusive use of their own kitchen while on site.
Availability
Our licensed commercial kitchens are open to members 24-hours a day, seven days a week through an online scheduling calendar. Each is fully outfitted with professional-grade equipment ready for food production, packaging, prepping, catering, and more. We also offer overnight parking for our area’s food trucks as well as on-site office space for meetings.
Initiation Fees and Dues
La Dorita aims to break barriers of entry by taking on the financial risk of opening and operating a commercial kitchen and reducing all expenses to a fixed cost. A $350 initiation fee is required to become a member, along with membership dues of $200/month, regardless of kitchen use. With the exception of the first month, a minimum of five hours of kitchen usage is required to maintain membership. All Kitchen Share members have access to discounted business and marketing consulting services ($75/hour for members as compared to $135/hour for non-members).
Shared-Use Kitchen A
Kitchen A is our original 350 sq. ft kitchen that is fully outfitted with professional-grade equipment ready for food production, packaging, prepping, catering, and more. It has everything needed to manufacture artisan food products in an efficient manner.
Our kitchen’s hourly rental rates are determined on a sliding scale. Shared-Use Kitchen A Rates are listed below.
With the exception of the first month, a minimum of five hours of kitchen usage per month is required to maintain membership. Because Kitchen A’s availability is determined upon a first-come basis for members who rent on an hourly basis, the majority of our members enter into a long term rental contracts to establish a set schedule for their production services. These contracts include access to secure storage space and average an hourly fee of $15-$20/hour ($13/hour for off-peak hours). The monthly contracts require that members provide a three-month termination notice prior to relocating their business production to another location. On site storage is available for dry, cooler, and freezer items. Pricing is based on size of space and varies from $18-$60 per month.
Shared-Use Kitchen A Equipment:
- Southbend Six Burner Range with Standard Oven
- Blodgett Oven SHO-G Double Convection Oven
- Full-Size Imperial Convection Oven
- 2 Savage Bros. Electro-Stove Kettles
- Cres Cor Non-Insulated Deluxe Proof/Hot Cabinet
- Stainless Steel Worktables
- Scotsman Ice Machine
- Three Bowl Sink, Prep Sink, Hand Sink
- Single Door Refrigerator & Freezer
- Access to onsite storage in Tafco & Tyson Custom Walk In Cooler/Freezer Combination Single Door Refrigerator & Freezer
Shared-Use Kitchen B
Kitchen B is 1500 sq. ft. and comprised of two back-to-back, multi-stationed co-working kitchens. Kitchen B supports two separate members or companies at a time—affording each the privacy our current members utilizing Kitchen A have come to value and rely upon. Kitchen B also serves as the designated kitchen for studio events and cooking classes. Kitchen B is available to members 24 hours a day, five days a week. A $350 application fee is required to become a member, and monthly membership dues of $200 contribute towards cleaning services and supplies. With the exception of the first month, a minimum of five hours of kitchen usage per month is required to maintain membership.
Our kitchen’s hourly rental rates are determined on a sliding scale. Shared-Use Kitchen B Rates are listed below.
Because our kitchen’s availability is determined upon a first-come basis for members who rent on an hourly basis, the majority of our members enter into a long term rental contracts to establish a set schedule for their production services. These contracts include access to secure storage space and average an hourly fee of $20-$25/hour ($15/hour for off-peak hours). The monthly contracts require that members provide a three-month termination notice prior to relocating their business production to another location. On site storage is available for dry, cooler, and freezer items. Pricing is based on size of space and varies from $18-$60 per month.
Shared-Use Kitchen B Equipment:
- Alto Shaam CTP7-20G Combitherm CT PROformance Combination Oven/Steamer
- Blodgett Oven SHO-G Double Convection Oven
- Blodgett Double Door Deck Pizza Ovens
- 2 Southbend Ultimate 6 Burner Restaurant Range 36″ Series
- Castle 4 Burner Stock Pot Stove
- 24″ Counter Top Charbroiler
- 24″ Counter Top Griddle
- Eclipse 30-Gal Tilting Skillet/Braising Pan
- Hoshizaki CR2B-FS Reach-In Refrigerator
- Globe 40 Quart Floor Mixer
- Carpigiani Lab100B Ice Cream Maker Batch Freezer
- Scotsman Ice Machine
- Cres Cor Non-Insulated Deluxe Proof/Hot Cabinet
- Stainless Steel Worktables
- Marble Pastry Worktable
- Three bowl sink, Prep sink, two hand sinks
- Access to onsite storage in Tafco & Tyson Custom Walk In Cooler/Freezer Combination Single Door Refrigerator & Freezer
Shared-Use Commissary Kitchen C
Kitchen C is a 750 sq. ft. cold-prep commissary kitchen that provides an alternative, more competitively priced and fully licensed commercial kitchen where food trucks, mobile vendors and other food service providers can come to prepare and store food and have access to water and ice and onsite parking.
Our kitchen’s hourly rental rates are determined on a sliding scale. Shared-Use Commissary Kitchen C Rates are listed below.
With the exception of the first month, a minimum of five hours of kitchen usage is required to maintain membership. Kitchen C offers an all-access food truck monthly rate with on-site parking for a flat monthly rate of $650 that includes grey water dump, unlimited ice and fresh water. The monthly contracts require that members provide a three-month termination notice prior to relocating their business production to another location.
Commissary Kitchen C Equipment:
- Stainless Steel Worktables
- Butcher Block Worktables
- Marble Pastry Worktable
- Three bowl sink, Prep sink, hand sink
- Access to onsite storage in Tafco & Tyson Custom Walk In Cooler/Freezer Combination Single Door Refrigerator & Freezer
La Dorita Studio
La Dorita studio event gathering space is the communal space adjacent to Kitchen B that is utilized for private events and/or pop-up restaurants. The space seats up to 40 persons at our communal table and accommodates up to 65 persons for a cocktail event. The Studio, in addition to providing a platform for learning, experimentation, menu tastings and private dining events focused on celebrating the craft of cooking, drinking and gathering at a communal table also serves as a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, sixteen-seat kitchen-classroom for our children’s cooking programming classes. It is the ideal laboratory for learning and will be used on a weekly basis to offer a free cooking class to the underserved children of the Sharpsburg community.
La Dorita Studio is available to rent at a rate of $1000/event for non-members. Members may rent the space for a marketing even of their choice for $350/event and depending on their activity level within the kitchen, may be entitled to one free event every six months.
Getting Started
If you are starting a business, La Dorita will give you a home, kitchen and business support all in one place at our facility located at 2312 Main Street, Rear, Sharpsburg, PA 15215. Need to test a recipe? Come to our facility. Need to make a ton of product for an event? Come to our facility. More than a kitchen member, you will become part of a community of makers working side by side to create something special. We’ll also share our relationships with local stores to help get your product out there and help you with the all too confusing process of retail distribution.
Complete La Dorita Cook’s Membership Application
How to get your business started as a member of La Dorita’s Kitchen Share program.
There are a number of requirements that need to be completed before you can start operating from The Kitchen Space. Each of these is explained below.
Liability insurance
La Dorita requires all Kitchen Share members to hold liability insurance of $1M. Please supply us with a Certificate of Liability Insurance, with La Dorita, LLC 2312 Main Street Rear, Sharpsburg, PA 15215 listed as the certificate holder. While $1M sounds expensive, this coverage is typically available for only a few hundred dollars per year. Additionally, most wholesalers and retailers will require you to have this amount to sell your products. Check with your broker on your exact needs – if you need a broker, we are happy to recommend a couple that our members work with.
Food Protection Certification
This is a requirement of the Allegheny County Health Department for any food business. To obtain this, you will need to complete a course, or show evidence that a course has been completed. Generally, only one person per business is required to complete this course. Allegheny County Health Department offers a variety of Food Protection Certification options to meet the diverse needs of managers in the food industry; these options include certification classes, a recertification refresher course, and a challenge exam. Current food safety regulations require that a Certified Food Protection Manager be on-site during ALL HOURS of operation in facilities where food preparation occurs. For further details, please visit http://www.achd.net/food/food-cert-course-schedule.html.
Permit to Operate a Food Enterprise
This is a requirement of the Allegheny County Department of Health Food Safety for any food business. Essentially, it permits you to carry on the business of manufacturing and selling food. There are three types of food enterprises. The purpose of Food Safety Program Plan Review is to assure that all equipment and construction in a new or remodeled food facility is in compliance with the Food Safety Regulations. Once a company becomes a member, La Dorita works closely with each member licensed within days of joining.
- A signed copy of the Policy Handbook. This sets out the rules, regulations and policies associated with actually using the kitchen share space.
- A membership fee of $350 made payable to La Dorita that is due at the time you are submitting the application. This will secure your initiation fee, and is in addition to the monthly $35 dues.
We strongly recommend you submit this information prior to the first time that you use the kitchen so that we can work together to get you licensed in the most efficient and timely manner possible.